This is a family friendly blog for those who love dolls and toys. The blog is a forum for all apsects of doll history, doll collecting, and doll making. It is the first step in creating a nonprofit doll center to educate the public about the historical role that dolls, the oldest human cultural artifact, play in the the lives of people all over the world. All excerpts are the author's intellectual property and may not be reproduced in any means withoutreceiving permission from the author.

My husband led me to a fantastic Victorian doll house yesterday. After we chatted with a great couple who built it, we came home with VanV...

Sand Baby Castaways

Courtesy, Glenda Rolle the Artist

PM Dolls

Leo Moss

German Dolls

Formerly, Aunt Len's.

Beecher Doll

Graces cover of Lenon Hoyte Auction, Aunt Len's

Foreign Dolls

Pryor Collection

Pryor Doll Collection

In Dec. 1959 Natl. Geographic

Great Book

Edward VI's Doll, 1540

Formerly, Helen Moe Doll Museum

Rare "frozen metal doll" Mannikin Pis

Courtesy, eBay Eilleen, Finder 27

Vintage Japanese Doll Joins our Museum Family

Courtesy, Southern Soldier Antiques

Rare Frozen Charlotte Type

A Pageant of Dolls

By Lesley Gordon, 1948

Hong Kong Lili

Barbie Stamp

An early Vintage Barbie

Bild Lili

Zinc Bodied Rohmer

Caused a suit between Mme. Rohmer and Mlle. Huret

Metal Dydee Baby

17th century Lead Dolls

England

Doll Shaped Mold

cf Dolls and Puppets by von Boehn

Metal Head

Probably Minerva

Black Metal Head

Russian Nesting Doll Charm

18 inch Metal Head

Mlle Bleuette

14th C Munich Clay Doll

Used as Bapitsmal Gifts

Halopeau artists rendering

Toy maker

Restored dolls

L to R: All vinyl mid-60s, Ragggedy Ann, handmade, new arms and clothes, Barbie Type as Elizabeth Short, The Black Dahlia. Black Felt Dress, white silk flowers and ribbons. She is in one piece, but with a swivel waist that does snap in two!

From Fortune:

Sales of Mattel’s iconic Barbie fell for a third
consecutive year in 2014, the company said Friday. The decline puts
pressure on the toy maker’s overall results at a time when the preschool
Fisher-Price line is also facing some challenges. Here are some of the
key points from the company’s quarterly earnings report, released this morning.What you need to know: Barbie’s sales slumped 16% in
2014, with sales falling by the double digits for each quarter
throughout the year. Barbie has faced pressure from Disney’s DIS-1.14%
“Frozen” line, which has become a juggernaut in the toy
aisle, but the doll’s recent downturn is also due to some broader trends
in the toy aisle that are almost out of Mattel’s MAT0.58%
control. Jim Silver, editor-in-chief of toy-focused website
TTPM.com, said Barbie’s core demographic used to be between the ages of 3
to 9 but is now a more narrow 3 to 6.
“Kids grow up much faster than they used to, and they move on
faster,” Silver said. Other fashion dolls, including some lines that
Mattel has developed, have stolen market share and attention. The sales
decline for Barbie, and similar problems at Fisher-Price, led the toy
company to oust its CEO
earlier this week. Barbie’s sales decline also accelerated in 2014, as
the brand’s sales only slipped 6% in 2013 and 3% in 2012.
Silver said one potential solution to Barbie’s decline is to add more
diversity to the doll lineup. He said it is also notable that Mattel
has brought back Richard Dickson, now co-president, as he previously ran
Barbie during her heyday.The big number: Net income for the fourth quarter
tumbled 59% to $149.9 million, or 44 cents a share, with sales falling
6% to $1.99 billion. Excluding some charges Mattel booked, profit in the
latest period was 52 cents, still far short of the 92 cents projected
by analysts. Wall Street had also projected revenue to total $2.12
billion.What you might have missed: Barbie’s downfall is
getting a lot of attention, but the problems in Mattel’s portfolio are
broad. In the key fourth quarter, when sales are supposed to strengthen
during the holiday season, Fisher-Price sales slipped 11% while American
Girl doll sales were down 4%. Only Hot Wheels grew. Fisher-Price is
also facing pressure, as some analysts and toy insiders say price points
for the line are too high, and competitors have been able to take
advantage by undercutting Mattel and stealing key shelf space.Learn more about sales in the toy industry from Fortune’s video team:

Theriault’s annual January auction even in Newport Beach, California,
has become legendary over the years in its offering of some of the world’s most
prestigious collections.This January
was no exception for the firm, which specializes exclusively in the auction of
antique dolls and childhood ephemera, and is now celebrating is 45th
year.

Featuring the storied collection of Beverly Hills socialite, Susan Whittaker,
whose 40-year collection became a legend in the world of dolls, the auction
fetched prices that would shatter previous record marks set by Theriault’s.

It was the high profile doll by Albert Marque that truly
stole the show. The fabulous example, dressed in its period historical costume
of Lorraine,
fetched a record $310,000 (Including 12% premium) making it an American record
for a doll at auction and a world record for a French doll.Heated bidding ensued from the moment it
started at $150,000 and quickly finished off in a battle of a phone bidder, who
was the ultimate winner, and an internet bidder which interestingly became the
highest online bid every registered at Theriault’s.

But it was not just one doll that people remembered.The bidding pace was something to behold and
the clamor that ensued between online and onsite bidders was a dance of back
and forth that had the first day of 300 lots taking nearly 6 hours to
complete.In that time, Theriault’s
shattered its own record with the most online bids ever recorded as thousands
of buyers from across the world competed for prized objects from the
collection.

The auction included six rare bebes by French dollmaker
Andre Thuillier, whose dolls had been a favorite of that sophisticated
collector.“Today, it’s difficult to
fined even one example of these dolls”, noted Theriault’s president, Stuart
Holbrook.The dolls sold consistently
over high estimate with two examples at $60,500 and $65,000.An exquisite 20” bebe by Aristide Halopeau
sold far above estimate, fetching $56,000.

Susan Whittaker’s collecting emphasis was in three major
categories: elegant bebes, captivating googly dolls, and all-bisque
mignonettes.The googly collection
included rare examples of the Oscar Hitt-designed model, marked “Virginia, Ginny for
Short”, the two perfect examples selling at $23,500 and $27,000. Designed by
the 1920s cartoonist, Oscar Hitt, who also created the popular tin toy, Hi-Way
Henry, little is known about the origin of the doll or the meaning of its mysterious
name “Virginia,
Ginny for Short.”

More than 150 rare all-bisque mignonettes and miniature
dolls were featured in the two-day event, with prices consistently doubling or
tripling their pre-sale estimates; a dainty slightly smiling model in original
wedding costume and coiffe (pre-sale (900-1300) soared to $3800, for example.

Collectors were equally enamored with doll ephemera.A 13” French Cinderella coach went to $7800
(pre-sale estimate $700/1200), a 15” French citrine with painted decorations topped
at $3200 (pre-sale estimate $1100/1500), and a rare 2” ormolu frame display by
Erhard & Sohne soared to six times its pre-sale estimate of $400/600,
topping at $3600.

The $2.5 M total result demonstrated the continued demand
and exciting energy within the doll collecting world.Holbrook commented, “One of the most
encouraging and positive signs for our industry was not only the record prices,
something that we are seeing now on a regular basis, but the number of new
collectors coming into the bidding for high-end pieces.”

The dolls were presented in a hardbound 204 page keepsake
book with exquisite photography and detailed descriptionsVery limited copies of the book are still
available, or collectors can visit www.theriaults.com
to view auction details and prices.

Theriault’s will now turn its attention to yet another
landmark legacy collection when it offers the lifelong, fine antique doll
collection of Berta Leon Hackney at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas on March 28
and 29, 2015. For further information, visit www.theriautls.com or call 800-638-0422.

Today a doll
hospital was featured with a billionaire stamp collector on a Sunday
news show. Just goes to show that in the heart of winter, we
find consolation in our hobbies. The annual UFDC convention
will be here before we know it, info. is below. Also, read more
auctions, snowmen,and more.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

The masks weren’t just
like any other pieces of sculpture.They
were magic things. . . . They were against everything .. . against unknown, threatening spirits. I
always looked at fetishes.I
understood.I, too, am everything. . . .
all the fetishes were used for the same thing.They were weapons.To help people
avoid coming under the influence of spirits again. To help them become independent.They’re tools. If we give spirits a form, we
become independent.I understood why I
was a painter.All alone in that awful
museum [The Trocadéro] with masks, with dolls made by the Redskins, with dusty
manikins . Les Demoiselles d' Avignon must have come to me that day . . .

Today, dolls and voodoo dolls in particular, appeared on "Dennis the Menace." In this show, Mr. Wilson, played by Gale Gordon of Lucy fame [thinks Mr. Mooney and Harry Carter], was demonstrating a voodoo doll and showing masks he bought in Haiti. He planned a party with little voodoo dolls gracing the invitations, too. The store where he bought the dolls had large dolls with curly hair in their boxes on display, and Margaret wheeled her vinyl baby doll and Raggedy Ann in her doll carriage.

Of course, dolls have been made of the characters, and I have Dennis himself in my collection.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

I recently caught an episode of the original avengers involving charm bracelets, and a talking doll that ran an organization of women who assassinated bosses who didn't pay them fairly. What a use for dolls and minis! Then, The Goldbergs this evening featured 80s robot toys like Transformers. I love these sightings! Also, a bit of doll trivia, as it were; two films that were nominated for Razzies this year, one of the Transformer films, and Teen Aged Mutant Ninja Turtles. Spoilsports!

In one of my more curious moments, I had a thought; how do you choose dolls for your collection? I would be interested to know. You can write to me here, or at collectdolls@aboutguide.com. For myself, I am very eclectic, and choose dolls based on type and variety. Sometimes, a doll catches my eye, and I just can't forget about it and I have to go and get it. It does not have to be an expensive doll; there just has to be something about it.

Handmade dolls and unusual dolls captivate me; they are a never ending testament to how vast the human imagination is. They say something good about us as people, even if these hand made or primitive dolls are not pretty.

So, I would really like to know, and will post answers, with permission, on my blogs and on Facebook. For ideas, see my boards on Pinterest, too.

Among the lots to be auctioned by Theriault's in their Cotillion Auction next weekend is a group of bisque Chloe Preston figures. These mean a lot to me because my dear friend, the late Mary Hillier, finished and published a book on Chloe Preston and her work right before she died on Valentine's Day, 1999. A few weeks before, she sent me a copy of an article she had written on antique valentines,which she loved. Mary was very proud of her Preston book; she enjoyed writing it, and thought it was among her best work. I like to think that this little grouping of Chloe Preston dolls is a sort of memorial to my friend, noted doll author and collector, Mary Palmer Hillier. Happy Doll Collecting and Bidding!

Kids these days are all about their phones, texts, selfies, and after school activities. Soccer, softball, gymnastics, Lego club, who knows what else?

You have to make an appointment to buy a Happy Meal for your own kid.

With a few exceptions, doll collectors and other in the antiques/collectible trades lament the fact that their population is growing older. Young people, I'll say those under 30, don't seem to be interested in dolls or collecting at all.

I get many letters from people who inherit very nice dolls, and can't wait to sell them or get rid of them. If it isn't online anymore, it's a dust catcher. Think about it; there are people born today who don't even know what a flip phone is, let alone a rotary dial phone or land line.

So, here are a few tips to encourage young doll collectors. We've talked about some before, but some are new. Many come from my own experience; remember, I started collecting dolls at age 3, and antique dolls at age 5.

1. If you have little girls in your life, or even little boys, save your dolls and action figures, even one or two will do. Pass them down to your children, and let them play with them. If it is too valuable or fragile, wait until later. My mother bought me collectible and old dolls even when I was 7 or 8 years old. I was super careful, because I knew they were collectibles, but we made clothes and furniture for them, took them on trips, arranged house for them, and generally enjoyed them. If something broke, she fixed it. Damage to a doll was lesson to me to be careful, and to study how a doll was made in order to repair it. Nothing turns a child off to anything more than giving her something terrific, and then telling her it has to stay on a shelf or in a box, with "don't touch!" as the rule.

2. Take your child with you when you hunt for dolls. Make sure she can find something to buy. If she is old enough to handle money, give her a few dollars. Pay her for chores so she can accumulate "doll" money.

3. Capitalize on popular dolls like Frozen, Monster High, Ever After, Polly Pockets, Lego and Playmobil Mini Figures, etc. Watch Mommie and Gracie the Doll Hunters on YouTube, and like them on Facebook. This mother/daughter doll collecting team is adorable and their enthusiasm is contagious. They are bonding and spending time together, which is what is important. "Confessions of a Doll Collectors Daughter," on YouTube and Blog Form is another great place to get family collecting ideas. This strategy works for collecting other things, too.

4. Get over the "hoarders" phobia. Collectors simply are not hoarders.

5. Join the Scouts; Girl and Boy Scouts have collecting badges. Girl Scouts have Barbie and doll collecting badges. There is also a Barbie Scout doll.

6. To build on #5; tie dolls in with your children's favorite media, e.g., Dr. Who figures, Smurfs, The Walking Dead figures, Game of Throne Figures, Star Wars and Star Trek figures, Angelina Ballerina, Curious George, etc. Do the same with storybook dolls from your children's favorite books. You encourage literacy along with collecting.

7. Teach your children to make dolls. The Net is full of patterns and ideas. Make paper dolls, simple or elaborate. You can turn them into cards and gifts for others. I'm told a paper doll house makes a great background for Polly Pockets. There are great books on folk dolls, craft dolls, art dolls, and more to get ideas. Visit the National Institute of American Doll Artists, N.I.A.D.A, for inspiration. author Shirley Jackson and her best friend made over 400 clothespin dolls; show your kids Uneek Doll Designs on Etsy.com to see what Deb Ritter can do with a little clothespin.

8. Have a doll show where you can display the dolls your children made, or where they can display their favorite dolls of many types. Go to UFDC.org, the United Federation of Doll Clubs site to see how they categorize dolls.

9. Doll Castle News magazine always features updates on junior collectors and their activities. Have a teddy bear picnic or doll teaparty. Have a doll themed or action figure themed birthday party and encourage kids to make accessories or dolls. Give out doll themed books as themes.

10. Go to Somethingunderthebed.com to see examples of "Doll Stars" and other doll magazines aimed at kids. American Girl has such a publication. Old copies of "Jack and Jill: and the iconic "Youth's Companion" have lots of ideas. Check for them online.

11. If you are a dealer, doll shop owner, or doll show promoter, have activities and merchandise set aside for kids. Don't assume youth means ignorance. I knew what a Bru was when I was 8. A little girl's allowance may not catch up with her doll expertise, but don't discourage her. Have dolls in kid price ranges. I love how Ruby Lane has doll items under $25.00. They are even categorize this way. Have a dollar table for kids, or do what people do at rock shows and coin shows; have giveaways for kids under 12. Paper dolls and old doll magazines are great giveaways. Old beanie toys, doll clothes, doll furniture, doll accessories, small plastic dolls form the 70s, cake decorations, and dollar store toys are great giveaways for kids. If they can find things accessible to them, kids will remember your business and will be encourages to keep collecting. They will learn and upgrade their collection as they go.

12. Build or put together a simple dolls house; use a book case if nothing else, and spend time with your child making things for it and decorating it.

13. Visit doll museums online and in person as often as you can. If you have a store or museum, have a play or hands on area where kids can actually experience the toys.

15. Halloween is a great time for dolls and doll costumes featuring dolls; take advantage of it. Making scarecrows and decorating pumpkins are doll related activities.

16. May Day, Easter, and Spring are great times to create fairy or miniature doll gardens. Grow flowers like hollyhocks or corn plants from which dolls are made. See my article, "Dolls, Flowers, and Gardens" for ideas.

17. Stress that dolls are fun, and can lead to successful businesses and careers. There is free book on Kindle called "How to Make Money with Dolls."

18. Take advantage of the information and activities at American Girl and if you can, to go American Girl place. AG has entertainment and charitable activities involving girls and dolls.

20. Don't push it. If your child is not interested at first, give her time. Sometimes, parents and grandparents collect dolls for their kids and put them away. When children love you, they love what you like. They will get interested in your dolls because they will want to know more about you.